LONDON (Reuters) – An experimental drug which turns off the biological “switch” in the brain that makes people hungry when they smoke cannabis may be a key weapon in Sanofi-Synthelabo's battle for Aventis.
Industry analysts expect Sanofi to highlight the billion-dollar sales potential of the novel treatment for obesity, known as rimonabant, when it reports full-year results on Monday.
The drug is in final Phase III testing and could be launched in 2006. It works by binding to and blocking a so-called cannabinoid receptor protein found on the surface of brain cells.
Denise Anderson, an analyst at Kepler Equities in Zurich, believes Sanofi's aim is to convince the market that rimonabant — which is also being developed as a quit-smoking drug — could be bigger than current top-seller Plavix.
Plavix, a blood thinner with sales last year of 1.33 billion euros ($1.70 billion), is a hard act to follow.